Systems to increase fuel efficiency and decrease pollutant emissions from a heat engine, and more particularly an internal combustion engine, are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,717,129 to Fox discloses a method and apparatus for steam reforming a fuel for an internal combustion engine. A water and fuel mixture is passed through a catalytic converter where the mixture is heated by exhaust gases from the internal combustion engine. The water in the water and fuel mixture, aided by a catalyst, is converted into steam which reforms the fuel, thereby producing a reformed fuel with decreased pollutant properties when combusted.
Other systems employing application of a magnetic field to a fuel are also known. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,538,582 to Wakuta and 4,469,076 to Wolff both disclose systems for applying a magnetic field to a fuel flowing into a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine. The magnetic field is believed to reduce the surface tension of the fuel and thereby increase fuel oxidation.
Systems for increasing the efficiency of a heat engine by providing an ionized fuel and water mixture to the combustion chamber are also known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,355,969 to Nelson, et al. discloses a method of ionizing water and mixing the water with a fuel to form an emulsion which is introduced into a combustion chamber. The water is ionized prior to mixing with the fuel in an ionizer having a pair of electrically charged plates. A high voltage power supply operating at a voltage between 3 to 9 KV maintains the electrical charge in the plates for ionization of the water. Thus, the Nelson patent requires a high voltage to effect ionization of the water.
It is also known to provide an internal combustion engine with ignitor assist rods to assist in more rapid combustion of introduced fuel.
What is needed in the art is a system and method for reliably and inexpensively providing an ionized fuel and water mixture to a combustion chamber and enhancing the physical properties of the ionized water and fuel mixture in the combustion chamber prior to combustion.